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Topic: Wire mesh or screen source? (Read 2146 times)

Where is everyone getting their wire mesh/screen from? Once I could even get stainless steel screen from the local Mitre 10 but lately the best thing I have found is aluminium insect screen from Bunnings and that is a bit of a pain to use because it frays really easy and a small square to cover the vent holes in a lid rapidly becomes a pile of little pieces of aluminium wire, sometimes even despite leaving a bit extra to fold over - or maybe my cutting style wrong :?

I'm going to have a go at making one of the Bushkill style bee vacs and I can see some problems developing if I use the insect screen that I currently have.

I use #8 Hardware Mesh for most of my bee related needs...it can be a little difficult to find at times. Some places, often Ace Hardware stores, will sell it by the foot, which is usually way over priced. My best luck has been finding it like in 10 foot roles from a local Mom and Pop type feed store. If they don't stock it, they can usually order it for you with a pretty quick turnaround.

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I use the aluminum insect mesh from bunnings for my bee vac and also to cover the vent holes in my lids. I haven't had a problem with it fraying like you say. Are there different types?

Errr, Shane, I may have overstated the trouble with the Bunnings aluminium fly screen, but the stuff I have still likes to fray a lot. Even though there a few different types of insect mesh (fibreglass, aluminium, stainless steel, maybe plastic) I probably have the same stuff as you. The stuff I have is made by Cyclone and it is just woven with no "joint" where the wires cross. Maybe if I cut it at more of an angle to the weave, it would behave better for me.

I have some mesh on some queen cages that the wires are all joined together and so will not fray. I even have some really old ones made from what I think is #8 Hardware Mesh. Not only are all the wires physically joined where they cross, the cages are soldered together, but I have never seen any rolls of the stuff with the same fine mesh in Tasmania. Moots, that's the good stuff I want. Of corse it may be available somewhere around here, but I haven't been able to find any so far.

Try some gutter guard for the vent holes. Its in strips and available at Bunnings. Its very durable and easy to cut with tin snips.

Thanks Anybrew, I never even though of gutter guard. I'll have a look in the local hardware shop - the nearest Bunnings at the moment is about 160km away until they build a new one on the old Burnie Pulp Mill site, which is olny about a 20km trip. Maybe Metaland might have something, I haven't tried there.

have you tried gluing the edges with pva to stop them fraying and keeps it tight when it is fitted I do this on my pollen trap draws I have mesh that bee can not get through that I got from retired bee keeper which covers the draw top and bottom but have no idea where to get it from how much do you need 4 a bee vac I may have some offcuts

Thanks Bigsting, I only thought about using masking tape on the cut lines, not glue. That should work OK. Thanks for your generous offer, I might take you up on it, but I'll do a bit more research before I try to divest you of your valuable supplies. I have quite a few metres of the black aluminium screen in the shed that I'll try your glue idea on first. Wouldn't need much for a bee vac, but I have plans for a few other projects on top of the vac.

I just looked up the Cyclone web page and they have a few more varieties of screen than I have seen on the shelves of the local shops. I'll see if the local Home Harware can get me some better stuff when I check out their gutter guard (if the gutter guard doesn't get pan out).

DO you have a company near by that makes security screens ? I use the one way mesh they use in them . it is a flat sheet that has little slits cut in it. you can see through from one way but not the other. Can be cut with good snips and i just use a two stapples from a staple gun to secure it . They usually have off cuts s

Just a word of advice for those who use the lid vents as peep holes into the hive. Try not to put your eyebrow right up against the hole as the screen will be big enough to poke a stinger through from inside.

Thanks Bigsting, I only thought about using masking tape on the cut lines, not glue. That should work OK. Thanks for your generous offer, I might take you up on it, but I'll do a bit more research before I try to divest you of your valuable supplies. I have quite a few metres of the black aluminium screen in the shed that I'll try your glue idea on first. Wouldn't need much for a bee vac, but I have plans for a few other projects on top of the vac.

I just looked up the Cyclone web page and they have a few more varieties of screen than I have seen on the shelves of the local shops. I'll see if the local Home Harware can get me some better stuff when I check out their gutter guard (if the gutter guard doesn't get pan out). and i can get a heap of that one way mesh if u want

Just a word of advice for those who use the lid vents as peep holes into the hive. Try not to put your eyebrow right up against the hole as the screen will be big enough to poke a stinger through from inside.

The gutter guard at the local hardware shop is plastic and the holes are a bit too big. However, we caught one of the local commercial beeks there and he said that they got their last lot of screen from a plumbing supply place in Burnie. He said that there is a good selection of different types, so I reckon that I should be able to find something less likely to unravel from the same place. Maybe that will help to point other people who have had the same difficulty finding quality quality mesh screen towards a possible source of the right stuff - otherwise, they will have to prise some away from Bigsting. :-D

Just a word of advice for those who use the lid vents as peep holes into the hive. Try not to put your eyebrow right up against the hole as the screen will be big enough to poke a stinger through from inside.

Hey Lone, how did you find that out??? :lau:I hate stings on the eyebrow, so that's pretty good advice. If you put a piece of lino over the frames in your top box, that might reduce the temptation to spy on the bees as there will be less to see - it also reduces their temptation to build in the lid.

Vent holes front and back gives good lighting to the tops of the frames :-D

Lone

Lone, fit the screen on the inside of the lid rather than the outside, that way they wont be able to get you through the screen. That's how us "Mexicans" do it. Then you can spy away with relative impunity. Actually, I have thought about spying on the bees with an endoscope camera. Think of the closeups you could get :devilbanana: I'll have to try it out.

I got over to Burnie yesterday to check out the screen supplies. The first place had nothing. The second place I tried had a few varieties of secutiry screen - the zincalume sheet type with lots of little holes (perforated metal???). They didn't have any off-cuts or woven type mesh and even metal gutter guard would be a special order. That sort of exhausted the major plumbing supply places that are close by and I didn't bother trying any of the sheet metal places. Bring on the new Bunnings store!!!

I ended up getting a small piece of the perforated metal they had at around $30/m2. It has about 70% metal / 30% holes, so it should be OK for lid vents, entrance closers, but maybe not pocket queen cages and I'm not sure if it would be any good for a bee vac. I think that something with a higher hole:metal ratio would be better and offer less resistance to the vacuum airflow.

I think that I'll take Bigsting up on his offer of a couple of pieces of his surplus screen if it's still open.